Week 8 - 27 May 2020
Lobuche to Gorak Shep: 4.3km, 3 hours, 540 floors
You start having butterflies in your tummies as the excitement mounts at being at the base of Mount Everest. Those butterflies are mixed with altitude sickness at 5,100m will give you a high that even crazy honey cannot match. Gorak Shep at 5,100m will be the highest place that you will ever sleep at during the EBC trek.
Gorak Shep was the original base camp for climbers in the 1950s before moving closer to the current base camp. Gorak Shep means "dead ravens" because it's a barren frozen lakebed covered with sand, devoid of any vegetation. Not exactly a description for Disneyland but it's what you've been dreaming of all this time - to be able to reach EBC.
If you can keep the butterflies under control, then you can attempt a side climb up Kala Patthar at 5640m where you will have an unforgettable full frontal view of Everest. Remember, you will not be able to see Everest from the base camp. So actually climbing up Kala Patthar is not optional if you want to complete the trek of your lifetime. It's a tough climb though.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Everest on 29 May 1953. Dreams can come true if you believe.
Begin your Stage 8 trek by taking part in a Zoom video chat on 27 May 8pm Singapore time. Please observe all social distancing rules.